Machine for heating glass tubes.



No. 882,190. PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908. J. T. FAGAN. M A-CHINE FOR. HEATING GLASS TUBES.

APP LIOATION FILED 23.20, 1906.

2 SHEBTSSHBET l;

PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

J. T. FAGAN. MACHINE FOR HEATING GLASS TUBES.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.20, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEETZ.

fl i'izzew'es.

' glass t ubes'.'in' heating flames where it is necthrough the medium of a lever arm pivoted Inachi-neQis-particularly useful in the heating "the entire'circumference of the tube.

brackets clamps for holding the tubes were UNrrnn e r Pitfl idl iil QFFXCE.

John *1. mean, or ctnvnmun, oulo, .issicnon TU run NATIONAL ELEClRIO LAMP No.ss2',' ieo.. Speciiicationoi I ption. v r The object of the present invention is to provide an iinproved machine for holding essai y that such tubes should receive the heat'evenlyfabou't a certain 'zone. Such a offthe en dsof glass tubes used in the manufaetu're of incandescent lamps, in which art heatin'a uniform manner in order that the fusibn' may be substantially the same around Heretofore, there have been employed for this purpose, certain hand-operated devices com-- prising supporting frames vn'th standards carrying reciprocating brackets, upon which mounted. .The'clamps were of the ordinary type, comprising a pair of pivoted jaws held together bya spring, between which jaws the tubes were thrust by hand. The application of heatto the ends of the tubes, or to that portion which it was desired to fuse, was accomplished by means of a double flame. burner held in thehand, which was manipulated by the operator around the tube as accurately as possible in order to secure' an even'fusion on all sides. The reciprocation of the bracket up and down for the purpose of'bringing the Zone of fusion to a given pointfor any reason, was accomplished to the fraine and connected to the bracket by a suitabledinli. Through the medium of such'mechanism, exhaust tubes have been heated andhpplied to bulbs for a number of years, the'tube being heated at the lower end through the inedilunof the hand-manipula'tedburner ,as ,above described, and then lowered u'n'ti'lfin contact ,with the upper end ofabulb'whichwould be held against a rest immediately "underneath the reciprocating l tube-holding clam'pj 1 Such' a method of op eration was'efi'ceedingly slow, and the application'of'heat tothe tube was so uneven that L OMPANX, Ol CLEVELAND, OHIO, A (.ORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

, I LZAQHlINE FOR HEATING GLASS TUBES.

Letters Patent. Patented March 17, 1908.

Application filed April 26, 1908. Serial No. 312,77.

was thus enabled to use a hopper or other.

constant feeding apparatus whereby the operator could not only secure a more uniform and higher grade of work, but could multiply the output to a considerable extent.

The devices which I have hitherto employed have been in the nature of positively driven chucks, which, while exceedingly satisfactory with most grades of glass, have been found to be subject, under certain circumstances, to the defect of transmitting the shock of sudden starting and stopping to the chuck jaws so as to break the tube held thereby.

An object of the resent invention is to provide a chuck mec anism adapted to hold the tube in the heating flame and to be ro tated in an easy, elastic manner so as to be entirely free from shock of any sort. Furtherm ore, the particular device which I have produced, is one capable of being applied to the hand-operated machines now in use with out any material alteration in their structure as they stand at present, thus making it possible to ship the attachment to the various plants in which such hand-operated apparatus is used and to allow the local machinist to e'flect the transformation without any considerable expense.

Referring to the accorn unying drawings, Figure l is a plan View ol a tubulating machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the arrangement for throwing the ga e plate beneath the chuck. Fig. 4 is a detai section showing the structure of my chuck. Fig. 5 is'a side view partly in sec' Fig. 7 is a plan with a portion broken away,

showing the structure of the driving wheel by which my chuck is rotated.

I have herewith illustrated a tubulating machine, which has the usual supportin frame, comprising a base, A, a table A and supporting standards A A; Mounted on one of the standards, A, is an adjustable rest A. against which the bulb'is held during the heating of the tube, which is to be applied thereto. Mounted on the table. are the usual the medium of a connecting rod B i this bowl a suitable covering late, C which as little friction as possible.

gas jets, A so located as to concentrate their flame about the tube at a 'oint near the top of the bulb as it is hel in the rest. Above the table, is a reci rocating bracket B projecting from a sleeve 3 slidin ly mounted upon a standard A and contro ed through ivoted to the end of the hand lever B Whic is fulcrurned on a bracketA fixed to a standard of the frame. These arts of the mechanism are well known anc in ordinary use in the old type of niachine, but in such type a pair of spring-controlled clamping jaws are secured to the said upper reciprocating bracket B and the operator manipulates a hand burner by which she directs a flame upon a tube from all sides as nearly alike as possible. I have, however, abandoned the use of such clamping aws and have mounted upon the reciprocating bracket a plate C which carries ball bearings for a hollow rotatable sleeve C as shown in Fig. 4. The detail structure of these bearings is not material, as I-may use any convenient form. It is merely desirable that a bearing be employed which will afford Projecting from the sides of the hollow sleeve are a series of arms having on'their ends cups C adapted to receive impulse from a current of compressed air or other fluid. 7

The supporting plate is so shaped as to form a bowl or inclosing box C in which the air cups or vanes may rotate. I provide for is centrally perforated to al ow the hollow sleeve to pass therethrough and rotate freely therein. At the side of the inclosing bowl, G I apply, more or less tangentially, a conducting pipe 0 for the admission of the compressed motive fluid. This pipe is usuallyv a short nipple, which may be attached by a rubber tube to the compressed air supply of the factory, a stop-cock or other controlling valve being provided at a convenient point. Into-the lower end of the hollow rotatable sleeve I have fixed a hollow cone C designed to ooerate to close the chuck jaws D 'deending from a hollow spool D, loosely and freely reciprocative in the upper part of said sleeve C. This spool, has atJt-s upper end, a wide flange D" designed to permit the engagenient therewith, on the under side, of a semicircular yoke l) on the end of a rock shaft D which latter is journaled in T brackets on the supporting plate. At the outer end of this rock shaft is a horizontally disposed crank .1) connected by a link D with a lever D" which. is fulcruined upon the same pin which upports the hand lever B that controls the i't'PlPl'Ut'tltlUll of the sliding bracket B. In place of the hand-operated lever of the ordinary t y pe. l use one in which the handle B 15 l lhiiiil-lkiy mounted 1n the end of the lever and has projecting therefrom atone side, a i

)in B engugin'ia fork l) at the end of the j l c c a lar yoke D is fixed. Said yoke will then rise at the side and bear against the flange D on the upper end of the spool D thereby lifting the latter so that the chuck jaws D depending from the lower end thereof, will be drawn away from. the hollow cone Q which holds themtogether, thereby allowing them' to swing a art and free any tube which might have can held thereby;

Referring to Fi s. 1 and 3, it will be noted that on the side 0 the reci rocating bracketv B is pivoted the stem E o a gage late -E in such manner as to-be capable of si ewise oscillation. 1 A coil spring E suitably located,

tends to throw. this gage plate out from be-;

neath the chuck, but an inclined rod E proj ecting from the side of the supporting stand: ard A- lies in the path of the outer end of the gage plate stem in suchmanner that upon reciprocation of the supporting bracket B the stem will ride against the inclined projection E and be oscillated thereby so as to throw the gage plate beneath the chuck.

In the operation of the device, the'rair-is turned onto the driving vanes C and roduces a constant rotation of the ho ow sleeve C, having the internal eone at the lower end. The "compressed air ofcourse leaks out through the loose fittings of the various parts and in such manner that it is i not found necessary to provide any especial vent therefor. When it is desired to pass a tube within the chuck either automatically or by hanc, the operator presses down the hand lever .vhich elevates the sliding bracket B carrying the chuck. This causes the gage plate previously mentioned to swing beneath thechuck. The operator thereupon 'gives the handle B a slight turn, as before described, lifting the spoolD up in such manner that the chu ck jaws are disengaged from the internal cone and hang 0 en so as to allow a tubeto be dropped t erebetween. On the tube being dropped into the chuck either automatically or by hand, it falls therethro'ugh until it strikes the gage plate beneath, by which it is held to project a given distance so that the subsequent operations may be regulated in a uniform manner to produce a uniform product. The operator now to restore it to its former position, where the ives the handle a backward twist detent B will dro into groove thus permitting the spoo which carries the chuck jaws to drop until said jaws come in engagev ment with the internal cone D and thus A rapid rotation of the latter, but such rotagrasp the tube and hold it so as to transmit the rotative motion thereto. T he sliding bracket B is then lowered until therapidly rotating tube is passedto the proper point in the heating flames, the heating zone being entirely within the selection of the operator. If nowit is desired to apply the heated tube to a bulb, the latter be held against the rest and the hand leverop'erated to lower the tube until it comes in contact with the bulb and fuses thereto. A twist of the handle will'then readily elevate the spool which carries the chuck jaws and release the tube so that the bulb with its attached tube may be withdrawn and the process repeated.

Fronrthe above description it will be seen that the mechanism, which I have devised, is one by which it is possible notpnly to apply uniform heat to a tube by securing the tion is secured in a which precludes the ossibility of any breakage arising from shoe transmitted to the'chuc through positive mechanical drives.

The, arrangement which I have devised not only eliminates the possibility of shock being transmitted from the source of power through the gradual acceleration of the speed of rotation from zero to the working rate, but it absorbs the shock generated. in the chuck itself when the spool which carries the chuck jaws is dropped into position to grasp the tube and take up the movement of rotation. Fnrthermore, it will be noted that it is possible by simply removing the spring-closed jaws and hand lever on machines now in use on hand- 0 erated machines, to apply thesupporting p ate and its connected arts in place of the said jaws, and to. substitute the new hand lever which I have described in' place of that hitherto used, and thus produce an auto- .matic machine with com )aratively small expense to the user. This atter oint is one of considerable im ortance in the usiness since the frames of t e machines are more or less expensive, and small manufacturers can not always afford to entirely re-model their facfiuid under pressure.

'tories by installing mechanically operated machines (16 none.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Mechanism adapted for holding glass tubes to a heatin means com risin a rechz-\ b l rocatable rotatable chuck for holding said tubes, and means fortransnnttmg rotative motion to said chuck through the medium of 2. Mcchanism' adapted for holding glass tubes to a heating means comprising a chuck, mechanical connections for reciprocating the chuck and means for applying fluid under pressure to rotate the chuck.

3. An attachment ada )ted lor machines designed to heat glass tn es, comprising an mclosmg cup, a chuck having vanes which project into the cup, said chuck'being rotatably mounted, and means for leading fluid into said cup.

4. .An attachment ada )ted for maclnnes designed to heat glass tu es comprising an inclosing cup, a chuck sleeve rotatably mounted and provided with jaw closin means and having vanes projecting into'said cup, chuck jaws in said sleeve so supported as to be adapted to be thrown in or out of operath'e condition.

5. Mechanism adapted for holding glass.

tubes to a heating means comprising a reciprocatable chuck, means for reciprocating 'the chuck, a hand hold for said reciprocating means and means operable by said hand hold for opening said chuck.

6. Mechanism adapted for holding glass tubes to a heating means comprising a reci rocatable chuck, means for reciprocating t e chuck, a hand hold for said reciprocating means capable of partial rotation, and means so connected with said hand hold that partial rotation of the latter will operate to open the chuck.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

. JOHN T. FAGAN. 

